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Etrancoasti language
The Etrancoasti language is the main language of Etrancoast, formerly known as Hulra. While no longer carrying the prestige of its predecessors, it is still considered a good-to-know language when one decides to become involved in maritime trade. The language has a heavy amount of loanwords from Middle Etrandish, Classical High Elven, and indirectly Middle High Elven via Middle Etrandish. The trade of loanwords between Etrandish and Etrancoasti continues even to this day, although it has now become much more mutual, with both languages borrowing words from each other. Evolution from Late Hulran Consonants The consonantal system of current Hulran is no different from that of Late Hulran, except for the introduction of the new sounds /t͡s z ɲ ʎ/ and the palatalization of /kʰ k~g h ɣ/ of to k̟~g̟ xʲ ɣʲ or even c~ɟ ç ʝ (mainly by rural speakers) before front unrounded vowels. Vowels * The long vowels /eː øː oː ɛː ɔː/ diphthongize to /ɛe̯ œø̯ ou̯ ai̯ au̯/, fully eliminating phonemic vowel length distinction from the language (except for /ɑ/ and /aː/) ** The original Late Hulran /ei̯/ also merges with /ɛe̯/ * The original Late Hulran tense vowels /i y/ either diphthongize or get laxed depending on environment ** In open syllables (except word-finally), they diphthongize to /ei̯ øy̯/ ** Before velar codas, they merge with the laxed /ɪ ʏ/ ** In other closed syllables and word-finally, they remained /i y/ * The centralizing diphthongs /iə̯ uə̯/ become tense vowels /i u/ Consonants * The consonants /t͡sʰ z ɲ ʎ k~g kʷ~gʷ/ appear in foreign loanwords only ** /t͡sʰ/ is generally mispronounced by uneducated speakers as s or t͡ʃʰ ** /z/ is generally mispronounced by uneducated speakers as s, sometimes even by educated speakers too. Some speakers may hypercorrect it to d͡z (the way it's meant to be pronounced in High Elven) even in Etrandish loanwords too. ** /ɲ/ is generally mispronounced as nj or j in the syllable onset, ŋ in the syllable coda ** /ʎ/ is mispronounced as j even by most of the educated speakers ** Most speakers may pronounce /k~g/ either as just k (without the voiced medial allophone g), or merge it with /ɣ/. ** Most speakers may pronounce /kʷ~gʷ/ either as just kʷ (without the voiced medial allophone gʷ), or merge it with /w/. * Palatalization of velars: ** /kʰ/, /k/, /h/ and /ɣ/ are palatalized to k̟ʲ~g̟ʲ xʲ ɣʲ or even c~ɟ ç ʝ (especially by rural speakers) before front unrounded vowels. ** /kʷʰ/, /kʷ/, and /w/ are labio-palatalized to k̟ᶣʰ, k̟ᶣ~g̟ᶣ, and ɥ before front vowels - rounded and unrounded alike. ** A lot of urban speakers do not palatalize at all. * /r/ was traditionally pronounced as an alveolar trill/flap r~ɾ, and still pronounced as such by higher-class and middle-class speakers, however in lower-class speech, the preferred realization of /r/ is a retroflex flap ɽ (in southern dialects) or uvular trill/approximant ʀ (in northern dialects). ** Syllabic /r̩/ was traditionally pronounced as r̩. Today, southern dialects pronounce it as an R-coloured vowel ɚ, while northern dialects use ɐ. Vowels Monophthongs * The main distinction between the lax /ɪ ʏ ʊ/ and the tense /i y u/ is not length but vowel quality ** the lax /ɪ ʏ ʊ/ are always short ʏ ʊ ** the tense /i y u/ are long yː uː in open syllables (except word-finally), short y u otherwise. * The lax /ʊ/ appears in loanwords only, and uneducated speakers may mispronounce it as o̞ * The mid vowels /e ø o/ are true mid, just like /ə/. In other words, they are neither ø o nor œ ɔ but halfway between them: ø̞ o̞. * /aː/ may be diphthongized to ɑɐ̯ or even ɑæ̯~aæ̯ by some speakers Diphthongs Category:Languages of Artograch Category:Elven languages